1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to footwear, and more particularly to a padded shoe designed for use in athletic activities such as kickboxing and other martial arts.
2. Description of the Related Art
The foot can be subjected to stresses during athletic activities. Existing athletic shoes, such as those disclosed by Thais et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,547,981, Richardson, U.S. Pat. No. 5,430,960, Onitsuka, U.S. Pat. No. Re. 27,512, and Mitsui, U.S. Pat. No. 5,117,568, are primarily constructed to provide support for the arch and ankles of the wearer while running or jumping. In addition to running and jumping, some sports and fitness activities require the participant to engage in kicking maneuvers, such as martial arts and soccer. The top, sides, sole, and heel of the feet can sustain severe blows during such activities. Additionally, kicks can be landed against another person during certain activities, either inadvertently or, in the case of the martial arts, while sparring. There is a possibility that the impact of knotted shoe laces or other shoe fastening structure can injure the participants during athletic activities such as sparring. It is therefore desirable to provide a shoe which protects both the wearer and the sparring partner or opponent from such injuries during activities such as martial arts and kick boxing. It is particularly desirable to provide such a shoe for use by children who may be learning the martial art.
Prior art sports shoes are generally manufactured using open cell foams. These foams are very soft, and offer a great deal of comfort to the wearer, but because of their softness they do not offer any protection to the wearer from injury sustained in kicking or striking. Typically, where it is desired to offer protection of this sort, the outer fabric of the shoe, which may be leather or a synthetic leather, is reinforced with a rigid or semi-rigid material. The reinforcing material thus receives the force of an impact, while the open cell foam cushions the wearer from the reinforcing material. However, the reinforcing material imparts rigidity to the shoe, and causes greater injury to an opponent than an unreinforced shoe. This type of arrangement is thus not suitable for use in sports such as the martial arts.
Prior art shoes adapted to prevent injury from kicking to both the wearer and an opponent are generally those designed specifically for use in the martial arts. For example, such shoes may not have any way to retain the shoe tightly on the foot of a wearer, such as laces. Additionally, conventional martial arts shoes are generally not suitable for street wear, because they generally do not have a sufficient sole.
Another limitation of conventional shoes for use in activities involving kicking, such as kick boxing and martial arts, involves the padding used throughout the shoe. For example, martial arts shoes disclosed in Oh et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,972,609, Frederickson et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,495,715, Wren, Jr., et al., U.S. Pat. No. 4,361,970, and Rhee, U.S. Pat. No. 3,379,722 disclose foot protectors which are little more than foam pads strapped to the foot.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,211,672 to Andujar discloses a protective shoe for use in contact sports such as martial arts. In the Andujar reference, the shoe upper is constructed of foam, and includes additional protective pads on its ankle and top portions. The shoe is secured by a single elastic strap held in place by Velcro® fasteners. This fastening system would not provide a significant amount of support to the ankles of the wearer, and could easily slip and become displaced, causing the wearer to become unbalanced. Collins, U.S. Pat. No. 4,051,613, similarly discloses a padded boot for use in the martial arts. This shoe is also secured by a single elastic strap with Velcro® fasteners.
Rhee, U.S. Pat. No. 3,949,493, discloses a protective shoe constructed of energy absorbing resilient material and a substantially open bottom. The open bottom allows the foot of the wearer to contact the floor or the ground. The shoe designed by Rhee is for use only in a gym or sparring ring, and is obviously unsuitable for everyday wear.
Bottoms, U.S. Pat. No. 4,624,015, discloses a karate and kickboxing protective boot which has an open back and a detachable heel protector portion. This boot is designed strictly for use in a sparring ring.
Ward, U.S. Pat. No. 4,769,928, discloses a slip-on type shoe for use in the martial arts. This shoe is constructed of a lightly padded material. Ward does not disclose the use of heavy padding positioned on the foot so as to absorb the impact of a kick against a kicking bag or opponent.
It would be advantageous to provide a shoe which is adapted for activities involving kicking that can protect a wearer of the shoe and/or a partner from injury, while also providing ankle support to the wearer.